Internship Searching? Check Out Smaller Markets

If you’re currently looking for an internship, you realize it’s especially difficult thanks to the more than 50,000 students enrolled in public relations programs in the U.S. While major cities have the largest number of PR-related opportunities, there are far more people competing for jobs in those markets.

Just when I was running out of internship search ideas, I received a note from Michelle Billick at GoodCall, a career and “life decisions” site. She told me where students have the best chance to land summer internships–smaller markets.

In the 2017 Best Cities for Summer Internships survey, analysts ranked 100 areas according to their per capita internship availability, access to transportation, restaurants and affordable housing.

The top 10 Best Cities for Summer Internships are:

Morgantown, W.V.

Greenville, S.C.

West Des Moines, Iowa

Naples, Fla.

Neenah, Wisc.

Charlottesville, Va.

Asheville, N.C.

Golden Valley, Minn.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Portsmouth, N.H.

Morgantown, a city of just over 30,000, had the 12th highest internships per capita, eighth most restaurants per capita, a skilled workforce, and median rent for less than $600. The city in northeastern West Virginia is a college town – home to West Virginia University – and it sits on the eastern side of the Monongahela River. There are 75 PR-related agencies in the “Morgantown area,” which extends some 75 miles away to Pittsburgh.

The cities in the top 10% of the Top 100 list were spread across the country, but many of the lowest ranked cities were in California and Texas. Top cities also tended to be a bit smaller: The top 10% average about 89,000 residents, while the bottom 10% averages over 103,000.